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The crumbling 19th Century structure is the last remaining cast-iron watchtower in the U.S. it is the only one remaining of eight that once constituted Manhattan’s emergency alert system

The landmark Fire Watchtower sits behind a fence in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park. The crumbling structure is set to get a $4 million makeover.

Most New Yorkers don’t even know it exists, but a crumbling 19th century landmark in Marcus Garvey Park is about to be turned into Harlem’s newest sightseeing destination, thanks to a $4 million makeover that will be announced Wednesday.

The cast-iron fire watchtower — the only one remaining of eight that constituted Manhattan’s emergency alert system before the days of fire alarm boxes — has been ignored for decades.

“It’s the only remaining cast-iron watchtower in the United State of America,” said Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner William Castro, whose office plans to spend $1.1 million on the project. “It’s a unique phenomenon in New York City.”

Contractors will spend the next 12 months dismantling the structure’s rusty beams, mending the least-damaged spots and replacing the broken pieces with fresh slabs of cast iron.

Dickens, whose office pledged nearly $2 million to rebuild the 47-foot relic, called the allocation a “smart investment that will pay for itself many times over.”

“It is one of the highest points in Harlem and has special historic cachet as the last existing structure of its kind,” the Councilwoman added. “This project will draw visitors and serve as a community asset.”

Host to “The Black Woodstock” in the summer of 1969

Marcus Garvey Park, one of the oldest parks in New York City, is located between 120th and 124th Streets between Fifth and Madison Avenues, and is approximately 20 acres in size. In approximately 1835, the park’s land was acquired and the park opened in 1840. Originally named Mount Morris Park (for which the surrounding neighborhood’s historic district is named), in 1973 the park was renamed in honor of Marcus Garvey (1887–1940), who was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and crusader for Black Nationalism and who, in 1919, established the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The park is home to the only surviving fire watchtower, which was designed by Julius Kroehl and erected in 1855-1857. It was declared a landmark in 1967 because of its unique post-and-lintel cast-iron construction, which provided the prototype framing for the modern-day skyscraper, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Watchtower serves as an important community landmark. In an effort to contain fires in NYC an elaborate reservoir system was constructed which included the Watchtower and the Croton Aqueduct. The park is also home to the Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, which contains a state-of-the-art physical fitness center, a 1,700-seat amphitheater (which was a gift from Broadway musical giant Richard Rodgers, who grew up across from the park in the early 1900s), and the Harlem Little League, which won the Mid-Atlantic Championship in 2002. The Amphitheater is the site for two popular annual events—the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in late August and the two-day Dance Harlem Festival in September.

Check out the unique brownstone at 4 West 123rd Street, which was “dressed up” by it owners in 1885 with an elaborate cast-iron fence and gate and a stamped, galvanized tin oriel window. Then stop by the Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church and checkout one of the only three copper domes in New York.

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